The head of AmorePacific Co., South Korea‘s top cosmetics company, has reaffirmed his commitment to the Chinese market, saying he sees more room for growth among middle-class consumers there.

“By 2020, the middle class population is expected to reach 500 million, and its size and influence will greatly expand in the next decade,” AmorePacific CEO Suh Kyung-bae was quoted as saying during a monthly meeting with senior company officials earlier this month.


AmorePacific has been showing stellar performance in China with a range of luxury and low-end brands, thanks to the rising popularity of Korean TV dramas and K-pop. It logged 5.66 trillion won ($4.94 billion) in sales last year, up 20.1 percent from a year ago.

Regarding the tightened retail regulations being applied by Beijing, Suh said they would likely have a “limited impact” on companies that have already established distribution channels in the Chinese market.

For smaller brands, the CEO said, they would take longer to catch up.

“We will have to keep an eye on the growth of emerging local companies, but brand power is not something they can get in a short period of time,” he said.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)